


Because He Understands

by heretosayhello



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:29:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28836345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heretosayhello/pseuds/heretosayhello
Summary: It had been nearly 2 months since Historia's coronation, and Squad Levi had been helping Historia set up the orphanage and farm. During this down time, Armin has a conversation with Mikasa about how she's feeling in case she's getting jealous of Eren and Historia. He's her best friend and usually knows what she's thinking and who she's thinking about, but Mikasa surprises him.
Relationships: Mikasa Ackerman/Levi
Comments: 12
Kudos: 159





	Because He Understands

It had been nearly 2 months since Historia’s coronation, and Squad Levi had been helping Historia set up the orphanage and farm while Eren honed his new hardening ability. It was a luxurious break for them after being on the run more or less and then defending Orvud District from Rod Reiss’s Titan. Sasha, Connie and Jean were as rowdy as some of the orphans Historia was always corralling as they did their daily tasks. Mikasa spent most of her day alongside them working, though with a quieter countenance.

Armin had set about documenting everything they had learned about the Founding Titan. In his notes he detailed the Founding Titan’s ability to alter and erase memories, the will of the First King, and the preservation of each Reiss member within the Founding Titan. He also scribbled down a few key questions he had about Uri Reiss & Kenny Ackerman and the Ackerman persecution. Maybe it wasn’t relevant but Armin didn’t want to miss anything that could be important.

Speaking of Ackerman, Armin looked out the window of the small study he was in and spotted Mikasa sitting out in the field. It was rare for her to allow herself a break.

Mikasa felt more content than she had been in a while. Farm work reminded her of the happier days that she would spend gardening with her mother before everything had gone to hell. The rich dirt had the same earthy scent as their small garden back in the mountains, and harvesting ripe vegetables that had been tended for by her own hand held the same satisfaction. Though she had adapted into the life of soldier, Mikasa felt nostalgic for the simplicity for just a second.

She sat in the field and allowed her head to tilt backwards so she could feel the sun radiant against her face. Mikasa stayed that way until she felt her face cool marginally, shaded by a shadow.

“Hi Armin,” Mikasa greeted softly without opening her eyes. The sunlight lit up her face again when he plopped down next to her.

“Can I join you?” Armin asked, already seated.

Mikasa opened her eyes and looked towards him, “Of course.” She felt at ease in his company, and it had been a while since they were able to just sit together. For the first time in a while, they had the freedom to talk about something other than planning strategy or immediate crisis management.

“You’re in a good mood,” Armin smiled, “Pretty far from being a gloomy brat.”

Mikasa awarded him with a small chuckle, “Don’t make me hit you with a sack of grain.”

“How is the farm coming along?”

Mikasa looked briefly at the barn behind them, “Really good actually. We’re already harvesting some vegetables and the farm animals are producing more than enough dairy and eggs. I just finished bringing in all the grain into storage so the orphanage should have plenty until the wheat starts to grow.”

“You’re really good at this,” Armin remarks.

“Not as good as the Cattle Farming Goddess,” Mikasa almost snorts, but in a teasing tone continues, “But I guess it’s a relief to be good at something other than killing Titans. It reminds me of the garden I had in the mountains.”

Armin’s eyes widen at Mikasa’s mirth when she tries to imitate Captain Levi’s monotone, “It’s a lot harder growing food for so many brats though.”

He can’t help but start laughing out loud at Mikasa’s humorous attempt, and it’s infectious. Mikasa lightly laughs along with him. Armin hasn’t seen her this cheerful in a while. He takes a good look at her. He had suspected that Mikasa might be feeling a little jealous of Historia recently because she had gotten closer to Eren. He had seen the look on her face when Mikasa had passed by him to interrupt Eren and Historia’s serious conversation yesterday. She had tried to maintain that unnaturally blank expression when she saw Eren and Historia walking together closely. Armin had been running late to interview Captain Levi about the information he gathered from Kenny last night but knew he should probably talk to Mikasa at some point.

But she doesn’t exactly sound resentful right now, he ponders.

“In all honesty, Historia is doing a great job. It’s good that someone is looking out for orphans and those in need everywhere from the underground to the edge of the walls,” Mikasa shares a meaningful look with Armin. Her tone was still light, which was borderline optimistic for Mikasa.

Armin says out loud what Mikasa was thinking, “I’m glad that they’ll have options too.” They had had each other and come a long way together, but now other children in their situation wouldn’t have to make the same choices they did.

“How is your research on the Founding Titan going?” Mikasa asks, after a minute.

“Not as well as the farming, but both Eren and Historia have been really helpful with recounting what they learned together from Rod. Captain Levi also shared with us some information that Kenny Ackerman had about the royal family too.”

Armin just caught some concealed emotion flicker on Mikasa’s face, and felt guilty that he had brought up Eren and Historia again. He opened his mouth to apologize but heard a voice call out to them. Armin hadn’t noticed Eren and Captain Levi emerge from the distant tree line on horseback, seemingly finished with Eren’s experiments for the day until Eren waved to get their attention.

“Armin! Mikasa!” he shouted, waving to them.

Both of his friends saw Eren and their stony-faced captain looking their way but still a good distance from them, and Armin waved back.

Out of Armin and Mikasa’s earshot, Levi said sharply to Eren, “Oi, we’re not done yet. Practice your training exercises while we wait for Hange to catch up.”

Not quite finished then.

Armin and Mikasa watched Eren and Levi dismount from their horses, and begin to get into ready stances. It wasn’t so much exercising, as it was Eren repeatedly lunging at Captain Levi and falling to the ground. Armin noticed Mikasa’s mood had shifted almost imperceptibly. If he hadn’t been lucky enough to call her a friend for all these years, he would’ve missed it.

Armin had gotten the feeling that Mikasa had been more withdrawn in the past weeks while everyone was standing up the orphanage. Mikasa had wholeheartedly supported it—everyone did, especially Captain Levi who had grown up in the underground— and in the beginning, it meant that she was spent a good portion of each day with Historia. In the earlier weeks before Eren’s experiments started, Eren always seemed to be around them and witnessing their growing friendship, Mikasa might have assumed his presence was more for Historia’s benefit.

After watching a series of Eren’s jabs miss their intended target, Armin quietly ventured, “For what it’s worth, I don’t think he likes her like that.”

Mikasa looked at him with a start, and kept her intent stare on him for a solid minute. Armin sweats a little under her scrutiny, wondering if she was going to chew him out. He wanted to reassure her, not upset her.

Mikasa tries to casually state, “I don’t think that has anything to do with me.”

Armin gives her a look that screams “oh come on” and one corner of Mikasa’s lips lifts at it. She must really be in a good mood, or she would never even bother to entertain this conversation. Or maybe she wants to get it off her chest, Armin surmises.

“It wouldn’t help anyone for me to say anything,” Mikasa said straightforwardly, “It’s inappropriate.”

“Because you’re on the same team?”

Mikasa gave a terse nod, “We have more important priorities.” She gave him a wry smile before continuing, “And Sasha, Connie and Jean would lose their minds. Don’t tell me you trust them to be able to concentrate after they’ve heard juicy gossip.”

Armin couldn’t help crack a smile as he imagined the trio salivating over gossip the same way Sasha drooled over food. Still though, they weren’t unfamiliar with how Mikasa was when it came to Eren. Would it really come to them as a huge surprise like Mikasa seemed to think it would?

“Also, some might consider us family,” Mikasa wrinkled her nose slightly, looking forward to continue watching Eren and Captain Levi’s training session. Ever since they realized their adversaries include humans in addition to titans, their squad had started practicing close range sparring.

“But you’re not actually related. You’re not blood relatives.” At this point Armin wasn’t sure if he was trying to encourage her to confess her feelings, but had an inkling that Mikasa wanted to continuing talking through this. Armin had always been her sounding board when she needed it.

“That’s true,” Mikasa acquiesced, “Still though, sometimes I wonder how it got to this point.”

Armin had always assumed the obvious, “Is it because he saved you?”

“Which time?” Mikasa quipped, but continued to answer Armin’s question, “He’s had to save me- and us- a few times now, but I guess that’s where it started.”

Mikasa was usually modest about her abilities, but it was strange to hear her speak like this since she was the one saving Eren and gingerly pulling him out of his titan form now a days. Armin thought she was selling herself short, “You’ve paid that back so many times now.”

Mikasa shakes her head at this, “I’ve caused injuries too.”

“Fewer now that you trust him,” Armin counters. Now that Mikasa trusts Eren’s abilities more, she doesn’t run off into dangerous situations anymore. He’s proud that she’s come around to be able to scope out the appropriate action for the team and not put any unnecessary risk on them. After all, Mikasa had listened to Captain Levi’s retreat order after Eren and Historia’s kidnappers got away from them, albeit reluctantly at first. If it had happened a few months earlier, she would have gone after them directly and put them at a huge disadvantage.

Mikasa looks thoughtfully at him, “I do trust him. I think it’s easier now between us because of it.”

But there’s an almost wistful edge to her voice when she continues, “But I know he still feels more annoyed with me than anything else.”

Armin thinks of all the times Mikasa fusses over Eren to his chagrin and he yells at her to stop babying him but it doesn’t dull her instinct to protect him.

“I don’t think he’s annoyed per say,” Armin muses, “But maybe he acts the way he does because you don’t always listen to him.”

Why did Mikasa looked so startled just now? She’s looking studiously at him again and Armin realizes that maybe she takes it more seriously than he had thought. Maybe she meant something beyond their bickering? Armin had been thinking of yesterday when Eren had told her lightheartedly to stop treating him like a feeble old man. He suddenly felt a little uncertain about their conversation as he was having a hard time placing her strong reaction. Armin settled for allowing silence to drop over them as they turned their attention to the spar exercise in front of them.

Both of them watched as Eren tried to land another punch on the captain, but failed to see his opponent sweep his legs from under him. Eren had definitely improved, but was miles below Captain Levi’s abilities.

“It’s not just because he’s saved me,” Mikasa said quietly, and sounds as if she’s finally saying something out loud that she’s clearly thought a lot about, “It’s nice to be understood, especially when it’s from a shared experience. He understands how I felt then, and how I am now. It’s nice not to have to explain why you’re so different—abnormal. I’ve known for a while now that I stand out, and not always in a good way to everyone, and he gets it.”

Armin looked at her in surprise. Eren had been there that day and helped awaken her dormant Ackerman strength, but she had never before indicated that it made her feel other than around other people. He protested, “I’ve never thought of you like that.”

“I know, Armin,” she reassured him with a smile.

In the distance, Mikasa and Armin heard Historia’s shout out, “Guys, hurry up! We need to get food on the table! Someone tell Captain Levi and Eren!”

Armin watched Mikasa carefully as she stood up and offered her hand to help him up, “Why don’t you let them know and I’ll go help Historia with dinner now?”

“Sure,” Armin agreed, and sensing that this was his last chance to say something about this particular conversation, he adds, “It’s okay if you don’t want to say anything, but Eren will always be there for you. No one can change that.”

He didn’t need to say Historia for Mikasa to know who he’s referring to. She had been waiting to hear Armin say his name though.

Mikasa keeps a neutral expression but Armin can tell that something is warring behind her eyes. She’s deliberating on whether or not she should say something. More quickly than Armin expected, she replies in a soft voice and with a ghost of a smile, “I know, but he deserves someone who understands him too.”

Armin was left feeling confused as Mikasa made her way back towards the orphanage. _He deserves someone who understands him too._ Had they been talking about the same Eren? Armin had thought she was jealous. Had she resigned herself to step aside? That didn’t feel like her. Something about the look on her face when she had said that felt like a challenge to Armin to figure out this puzzle. He had missed something relevant.

Still perplexed, Armin distractedly walked towards Eren and Captain Levi who had finished their training. Eren was more or less covered with dirt, and Captain Levi remained pristine.

“Captain!” Armin saluted as he approached.

Captain Levi nodded without looking at him, and Eren was about to greet him when Hange and Moblit came charging out of the forest on horseback.

“Sorry we’re late! Collecting samples of Eren’s crystallization took longer than we thought!” Hange apologized before noticing Armin, “Hi Armin. Did you come to collect us?”

Armin had been looking at Captain Levi, whose gaze was surreptitiously trained on something behind Armin. Normally, Armin wouldn’t have given it a second thought or rationalized it as the captain’s natural watchfulness which had saved them countless time before. _Saved us a few times now._ But he was still feeling unsettled after his conversation with Mikasa, and this prickled the back of his mind in the same way.

 _Oh my God._ Armin’s own eyes widened and flitted between the captain and Eren. He knew in that moment that if he turned around, he would still see someone’s retreating form. His conversation with Mikasa was speeding through his mind again, but this time with different anecdotes.

“Armin?” Eren shook his arm, literally shaking him out of his revelry.

Armin snapped his eyes to Eren and Hange before Captain Levi caught him staring wide-eyed.

“Ye-yes,” Armin stuttered, trying to regain his composure. He cleared his throat, “We’re being called to dinner.”

Captain Levi only said, “Good” before taking off on his horse.

“I’ll walk with you back,” Eren offered Armin.

Seeing Armin nod, Hange said before speeding off as well, “Suit yourselves. Moblit, I’ll race you back! Last one back has to categorize the samples!”

On their leisurely walk back, Eren chats to Armin about his progression today, more animatedly than he should have given the solid beating he just received during training.

“I think we’ll be able to proceed with our mission to recapture Wall Maria soon now that I’ve gotten the hang of crystallizing,” Eren says, happy with his progress, “Like Captain Levi says, that’s our number one priority now.” _We have more important priorities._

“That’s great, Eren,” Armin offers.

“Yeah, but hopefully I get better at sparring too. The captain really showed me up today. You saw right? Even with his leg just barely recovered from the Female Titan, Captain Levi managed to kick my ass today,” Eren grimaced. _I’ve caused injuries too._

“He grew up in the Underground with Kenny learning to fight,” Armin tries to reason, “It’ll take a while for any of us to come close to his level.”

Eren grins, “That’s true. I guess Mikasa comes the closest since she’s also an Ackerman and even she has a hard time sparring against the captain. She learns so much faster from him than I do though.” _Some might consider us family._ Like from the same clan _._

Armin mumbles agreement, “She’s getting better at following his orders too.” _Maybe he acts the way he does because you don’t always listen to him._

“I guess so. I think she’s finally past wanting to exact revenge on him for the tribunal,” Eren said a little sheepishly.

“I think so too.” _I do trust him. I think it’s easier now between us._

In the distance, Armin sees Captain Levi catching up to Mikasa despite her head start. He must have been at breakneck speed on horseback just now, because Hange and Moblit were still halfway to them. Their captain and friend are practically in front of the orphanage and barn already, and Armin sees the captain drop down from horseback next to Mikasa and walk the rest of the few short steps with her. They pause together for a moment before she enters the orphanage, and he continues towards the stables in the barn.

“Armin, are you okay?” Eren waves a hand in front of Armin’s face to get him to zone back in.

“Sorry,” Armin reddens slightly, hoping Eren wasn’t able to tell that he was staring at Captain Levi and Mikasa.

“You seem really distracted,” Eren says with slight concern.

Armin apologies again and without giving to much away, settles on saying, “Just thinking about something Mikasa said.”

Of course it’s subtle, but Armin can see it now. He saw it in the fleeting but meaningful look Mikasa and Captain Levi shared for just that moment. _He understands._


End file.
